Investment Adviser articles from February 2005

Investment Adviser archives from February 2005

Elliot's exit prompts reshuffle for JPMF.
February 7, 2005... JPMF is reshuffling its large European fund management team after its head of European retail James Elliot announced his resignation. Mr Elliot, who has been at JPMorgan Fleming Asset Management for nine years, said he was leaving to pursue...

Close chops Escalator's initial fee.
February 7, 2005... Close Fund Management has cut the initial charge for its Close UK Escalator 100 fund by 2 percentage points. The decision to cut the charge from 5 per cent to 3 per cent was made in response to a recent poll carried out by IFA Census. The...

M&A activity pushes mid-caps to new highs.
February 7, 2005... As the FTSE250 index hit its highest ever level of 7225 since launch in 1992, fund managers pointed to an upturn in merger and acquisition activity over the last year as a key driving force. The FTSE250 rose by 78 per cent over the 12...

Premier to focus on renewable energy.
February 7, 2005... Europe's expanding renewable energy capacity will be a key focus for investment in Premier Asset Management's Renewable Generation fund. The fund will be based in Guernsey and listed on the Alternative Investment Market. Premier said the...

Brooks to get set for Aim listing.
February 7, 2005... Specialist investment wealth manager and adviser Brooks Macdonald, has unveiled flotation plans for March. Based in Mayfair, the company plans to launch onto the Alternative Investment Market next month, having already won several industry...

MTN looks to China exporters for launch.
February 7, 2005... The MTN China VCT is seeking to raise AGBP25m by investing in UK companies that have products to sell to China. Through MTN's contacts both at a government and business level, they will be able to verify exactly the product the Chinese are...

Hartford readies for drive into the UK bond market.
February 7, 2005... The Hartford is liaising with UK fund managers to deliver a range of investments as part of its drive to penetrate the UK. The group, a subsidiary of the US insurer, has already announced plans to offer a unit-linked investment bond, with a...

Apcims warns of EU intermediary threat.
February 7, 2005... Intermediaries may have to restructure businesses or hold more capital to meet liabilities under the EU capital requirements directive. The warning came from the Association of Private Client Investment Managers and Stockbrokers, which said...

Invesco wants separate Aim index for ventures.
February 7, 2005... Mr Crossley, who runs the AGBP9m Invesco Perpetual Aim VCT, said the current index was not a relevant benchmark to use. This is because it is dominated by mining and resource stocks and overseas companies, into which an Aim VCT cannot invest,...

Quester, Chrysalis plan first mergers.
February 7, 2005... Quester has proposed the merger of its VCT, VCT 2 and VCT 3 trusts, while Chrysalis hopes to merge its A, B and C VCTs. If shareholders give the go-ahead, this will be the first time VCTs have merged. Both companies are aiming to reduce...

Baronsmead rolls out class to become a VCT giant.
February 7, 2005... The Baronsmead C Class share issue launched this week. The AGBP37.5m VCT is aiming to become one of the biggest VCTs in the market by adding another AGBP20m of investment. David Thorp, manager of the VCT, said the issue was in response...

Telephony called as top tip for Asia.
February 7, 2005... Property, tourism, consumer goods and mobile telephony are being touted as the sectors to select in Asia, according to fund managers. Commentators across the industry, inspired by the new Chinese Year of the Rooster, are crowing about the...

Platforms biased to rich, says study.
February 7, 2005... High charges and hidden penalties will make it inefficient for IFAs to conduct wrap business for all but high net-worth clients. A study from research company Defaqto revealed that depending on the amounts invested, platform charges,...

Go opposite to China over goods: Gartmore.
February 7, 2005... Philip Ehrmann, co-manager of the AGBP152.2m Gartmore Emerging Markets Opportunities fund, with Peter Dalgliesh, and manager of the AGBP112.3m China Opportunities fund, claimed it was time to pay attention to China as a global buyer and seller...

Franklin bids for distributor status.
February 7, 2005... Franklin Templeton is seeking distributor status for more of its Luxembourg Sicavs. Jamie Hammond, the company's sales and marketing director, said it would be applying for distributor status on funds with income share classes. He...

Industry urges government to aid flagging appeal of Isas.
February 7, 2005... Fund managers have called on the government to improve incentives for Isa investors in the light of falling sales. Gordon Davidson, joint managing director of Jupiter Unit Trust Managers, said financial scandals, the growing appeal of...

Baillie warning on discounts.
February 7, 2005... Investors tempted by Isa discounts may get a rude awakening when hit by separate levies on the products, Baillie Gifford has warned. Robert O'Riordan, investment trust liaison and development manager for the Scottish asset manager, said the...

China climbs to third in JPMF list.
February 7, 2005... China is a growing favourite among Isa investors, new research has found. A survey of Isa investors and IFAs conducted by JPMorgan Fleming Asset Management found the UK remained the top destination for investors and IFAs when selecting...

Sales director quits Ample.
February 7, 2005... Ample's director of sales and marketing, Alan Easter, has left the platform provider. Mr Easter resigned from the adviser platform proposition last week, with disagreements over business strategy between himself and group chief executive...

Buy & Sell.
February 7, 2005... Cazenove European fund New Star's Mark Harris is favouring Cazenove's AGBP153m European fund in its AGBP18m European portfolio. 3i investment trust Peter Walls, manager of the AGBP6.4m Unicorn Mastertrust, has bought in the...

Liontrust set to expand beyond UK equity core.
February 7, 2005... The company wants to grow the business beyond its UK equities core and hopes new funds will be operational within a year. Jonathan Harbottle, marketing director of Liontrust, said the consultant had a pension fund background but would not...

Demise of the US has been overplayed: Miller.
February 7, 2005... The global economy is well placed as the US's woes have been blown out of proportion, according to Legg Mason's US managers. Veteran investment specialist Bill Miller, speaking at the annual Legg Mason Investment Conference, suggested that...

Performance.
February 7, 2005... By Daniel Judge This week we look at the Trustnet IMA Global sector. The top-performing fund in the 34-strong sector is New Star's AGBP18m European Portfolio. We have chosen to focus only on European funds in the sector because...

Cripps tests out move into retail.
February 7, 2005... Cripps Investment Management is road-testing a fund of funds for the retail market. The Tunbridge Wells-based discretionary manager has been running a multi-manager portfolio model as a basis for private client funds since last February...

Forsyth adds to specialist fund range.
February 7, 2005... Forsyth Partners has added to its specialist fund of funds range with the launch of offshore commodity and property funds. The funds are Bermuda-domiciled and can invest globally in any funds within their sectors. They will be available...

Bristol & West rolls out its guaranteed bond offerings.
February 7, 2005... Bristol & West has launched its range of guaranteed equity bonds and Isas specifically for the IFA market. The range includes FTSE-linked bonds, income & growth bonds and a guaranteed portfolio bond multi-asset class product. The...

Look to riskier elements of bond market: Western.
February 7, 2005... Only those willing to invest in riskier elements of the bond market will make money, a fixed income specialist has warned. Mike Zealouf, director of international business for US-based Western Asset Management, said the bond market did not...

Veritas boosts long-only offering with Global Inc.
February 7, 2005... The fund, which will be managed by former Newton Income fund manager James Harries, will have an approximate split of 70 per cent equities and 30 per cent cash. The fund manager will run a focused portfolio with a view to producing...

Bio-tech is the new black -- Framlington.
February 7, 2005... Deane Donnigan, co-manager of the AGBP454m fund, said large drug companies performed poorly last year, particularly in the US. She said this was down to a lack of new products in development and patents on existing drugs running out, making...

St James's set to test offshore funds water.
February 7, 2005... The investment manager will take advantage of depolarisation rules to test the expatriate market by offering Fidelity's Luxembourg-based Sicav fund range through its financial advisers, known as the St James's Place Partnership. The company...

Aberdeen, Electra top VCT survey.
February 7, 2005... Aberdeen and Electra have topped the tables for generalist VCTs in Hargreaves Lansdown's 2005 VCT survey. The Bristol-based IFA gave both the Aberdeen Growth Opportunities 2 and Electra Kingsway 2 a five-star rating for their construction...

Fund sales fall in spite of equities rally -- IMA.
February 7, 2005... Investors' appetite for funds slumped over the 12 months to December. Despite a significant improvement in the fortunes of the stock market over the past two years -- the FTSE100 closed at an almost two-and-a-half year high of 4852.3 at...

Swip sees strong growth in commercial property.
February 7, 2005... Scottish Widows Investment Partnership's property trust has bulked up its office exposure in anticipation of strong growth in the sector. Gerry Ferguson, manager of the trust, said: "We expect offices to be the best performing sector in...

Insight seeks out European pearls.
February 7, 2005... Conviction investing in under-owned, under-valued stocks is the key to good returns in European equities, Insight Investment believes. Richard Wiseman, head of European equities for Insight, said Europe had poor macro economic prospects for...

Economies safe in near future: HGI.
February 7, 2005... Global economies will not be derailed by imbalances in the US market over the next two years, according to Henderson. Tony Dolphin, director of economics and strategy for Henderson, said there was no immediate prospect of the US's...

Curling brings Eurotrust in line with her Euro fund.
February 7, 2005... Davina Curling, the new manager of the F&C Eurotrust, has revamped the portfolio to bring it into line with her European unit trust. Ms Curling has started to bring the AGBP384.4m trust's portfolio holdings to around 80 to 100, similar to...

Lloyd targets IFAs with five new retail offerings.
February 7, 2005... Specialist Asian and emerging markets manager Lloyd George is offering five new funds to retail investors. The company has taken existing offshore funds and put them into a UK Oeic in order to bring them to the retail market. Lloyd...

Norwich Union launches a guaranteed with profits fund.
February 7, 2005... Norwich Union has launched the With Profit Guarantee fund The fund guarantees to return a customer's original investment at the end of five years. The guarantee only applies if the investment is held for the full five-year period and...

Choose cash over corp bonds, says Hargreaves.
February 7, 2005... Following a general theme of caution regarding corporate bonds from some bond fund managers, Meera Patel, senior funds analyst for the Bristol-based IFA, said there was little to motivate investors to part with their cash in favour of corporate...

Aberdeen proposes a twin splits fund rollover.
February 7, 2005... The boards of the AGBP67.7m Edinburgh Income & Value trust and the AGBP74.5m Edinburgh High Income trust, which both have zero share classes, have put forward proposals to merge into a successor company with a split capital structure. The...

WINS backs trusts with wider discounts.
February 7, 2005... Investors searching for higher returns from trusts should pay closer attention to wider discounts than to past performance, according to Close Wins. A report by the investment trust team said investors continue to pay too much attention to...

Buyers' market for commodities.
February 7, 2005... Kevin Norrish, an oil analyst for Barclays Capital, said although there was a strong inverse correlation between oil prices and inventory levels in the short term, this looked like being reversed. Oil prices, have came down significantly to...

Aberdeen fears housing crashSmaller cos sectors come out on top for 2004: AITC.
February 7, 2005... Smaller companies sectors have been the top performing investment trusts sectors over the past year, according to figures released by the AITC. European, UK and Global Smaller Companies took the top three positions out of the top five...

F&C trust merger first of many, says Brewin.
February 7, 2005... F&C's decision to merge two of its investment trusts is likely to be the start of rationalisation within the trust industry. This belief, expressed by analysts at Brewin Dolphin, came as the boards of the AGBP99.6m F&C Capital Income...

PPI attacks Commission's report over alternatives.
February 7, 2005... The long-awaited Pensions Commission report has been criticised for not taking other savings into account. The Pensions Policy Institute's response to the report, which came out last week, commended the overall research, but claimed the...

Aberdeen fears housing crash.
February 7, 2005... The biggest worry for the UK smaller cap market is a slowdown in the housing market, according to an Aberdeen trust manager. Andrew Paisley, manager of the AGBP105.6m Dunedin Smaller Companies trust, said there was a benign growth outlook...

Moneyfacts survey shows rate variation.
February 7, 2005... The latest annuity survey compiled by Investment, Life & Pensions Moneyfacts, found a "significant variation" between the lowest and highest standard annuity rates across all age groups. The survey noted an "unprecedented convergence" between...

Unicorn's Webb must look to performance, says Close.
February 7, 2005... Unicorn Asset Management's manager Peter Webb must focus on turning around performance, having spent time developing the business, an investment trust team has said. Charles Cade, trust analyst for Close Wins, said the work of growing...

PurpleCircle targets its unfettered Sipp at IFAs.
February 7, 2005... The self-invested personal pension, which is not tied to any life company, aims to offer the widest possible range of investments to help advisers tailor the product to meet the needs of individual clients. PurpleCircle is also offering a...

Look beyond explored emerging states: Syme.
February 7, 2005... NOW is the time to find investment opportunities outside of the larger emerging economies, according to SG Asset Management. The investment house is predicting the emerging market economies to outperform those of the rest of the world,...

Bulgaria holiday fund may be too risky -- Bloomsbury.
February 7, 2005... AN offshore property fund that invests in off-plan holiday property in Bulgaria has been described as full of risks by an investment specialist. Jason Butler, managing director of IFA Bloomsbury Financial Planning, said the Black Sea...

Confidence of the US spender rises.
February 7, 2005... US consumer confidence is boosting equity performance, even if it is only short-term, according to new figures. The US Conference Board's measure of sentiment increased to 103.4 in January from 102.7 in December, giving the Dow Jones its...

No rate cuts this year: Hichens.
February 7, 2005... Tax increases and static interest rates will be the main features after the UK general election, according to Hichens Investment Management. James Knowles and Neil Cumming, investment directors at Hichens, said the general election would...

Gartmore counters bid with juicier alternatives.
February 7, 2005... The board of the Gartmore Growth Opportunities trust has fought off a tender offer after proposing more attractive alternatives. The AGBP53.3m trust outlined proposals to shareholders that would see it offering regular redemption...

Brussels lobbied over cross-border mergers.
February 7, 2005... Many asset managers are considering fund mergers to create economies of scale and avoid fund duplication in the wake of Ucits III. But a barrier exists due to the lack of EU legislation on fund mergers. This means asset managers seeking to...

F&C opens Latin equity fund to retail.
February 7, 2005... As part of plans to make more of the former F&C's institutional fund management expertise accessible to the UK retail base, Rupert Brandt's Latin American unit trust is being touted to fund of funds and discretionary investors. The fund is...

FSA has confused investors, says IMA.
February 7, 2005... The Investment Management Association has attacked the FSA for confusing investors and isolating the UK investment fund industry from the rest of Europe. In its response to the Financial Services Authority's proposals on the Implementation...

Sic transit gloria, Robert-.
February 7, 2005... Robert Kilroy-Silk, the smooth tongued, silver-haired former chat-show host and aspirant politician, has been waving the Union flag in the corridors of power -- well a press conference in London -- at the launch of his right-wing,...

Be careful of what you wish for-.
February 7, 2005... Spare a thought for poor neglected fund managers. It is a lonely, lonely life for fund managers quietly running their funds behind their Bloomberg screens. Or so it seems at Soc Gen Asset Management, when a young journalist ventured into the...

Richard's long goodbye.
February 7, 2005... The Baillie Gifford team celebrated 25 January, like every good Scot, with a big party where men wore skirts, drank whisky until the point where they went blind and played a bagpipe and wailed poems at a sheep's stomach stuffed with spiced...

The unwanted guests that could spoil your free lunch.
February 7, 2005... What bond gave a return last year of 20 per cent? That is got to be something pretty high octane, you would think: a Russian issue perhaps or some Junk bond? In fact, all you had to do to get this stellar return was buy the 2035 United Kingdom...

Taking responsibilities for your actions.
February 7, 2005... On the basis of recent headlines, the need for market regulation has never been greater. No fewer than four separate high profile legal cases have been working their way through international courts. Emilio Botin's fate as chairman of Banco...

Aim index is no longer a stepping stone market.
February 7, 2005... Investment Adviser: The Alternative Investment Market index is in many ways misunderstood. It is seen as risky, volatile and something of a stepping stone for companies wishing to list in the main markets, but not possessing enough quality or...

Mediocre starts to look good.
February 7, 2005... Latest figures from the Investment Management Association show that Isas are not flying off the shelves. It is tempting to conclude that this is in part due to markets' rather lacklustre performance over the last 12 months. However, as recent...

Domino theory: Iran could be next.
February 7, 2005... Back in November, I wrote a piece in the Financial Times suggesting that big risk for financial markets in 2005 might be a US attack on Iran. I suppose some readers might have thought this was journalistic hyperbole. But the evidence...

Using a margin for getting things wrong.
February 7, 2005... For those of you who read the finance pages over Christmas and New Year you could have hardly failed to notice Edward Bonham Carter talking about the UK market and his description of it being like a hippo that wallows around with occasional...

An end to suffering.
February 7, 2005... How has investor psychology changed since the start of the great bear market in 2000? One can argue that structured products are a growing and sensible solution for both basic and more complex investor requirements, while ensuring the level of...

Hargreaves'VCT survey results.
February 7, 2005... lContinued from page 1VCT over the longer term." At the bottom end of the scale in the generalist sector, Mr Yearsley was more scathing about the prospects of a number of VCTs, including the Equinox VCT, which gained two stars. Mr...

Slow lane dawdlers.
February 7, 2005... If the world of fund management were to be likened to cars heading up the M1, some equity and bond funds would be sleek X-Type Jaguars, others would take the form of zippy Skoda hatchbacks and a few would be broken down bangers on the side of...

Time to move the cash from under the mattress.
February 7, 2005... It can be easy to overlook the unique benefits of cash whether you are a fund manager or an adviser. While the asset class is often viewed as an unexciting, but albeit necessary, part of every portfolio, getting it wrong here can prove costly...

Help! I'm locked in the loo!
February 7, 2005... Late for work again? If you have tried all the usual excuses of, "My train is late because there were leaves on the line" or "Sorry the car would not start" or "We had a power cut and my electronic alarm clock did not go off" try "Sorry I am...

Beware of high street banks bearing gifts.
February 7, 2005... The government's much trumpeted child trust fund initiative has had a mixed reception from the financial services industry and investment press alike. For some, CTFs are a bold and enlightened project that will engender a stronger savings...

Changing times.
February 7, 2005... There has been a lot of interest in multi-manager investing of late as advisers, researchers, platforms and, essentially, investors recognise the important risk reduction that can result from diversifying a portfolio across a range of...

Not so risky business.
February 7, 2005... Last year was a watershed year for venture capital trusts and enterprise investment schemes. Up to 5 April, they provided a largely similar set of tax reliefs -- principally, 20 per cent income tax relief and 40 per cent capital gains tax...

Bond funds enjoy their halcyon days.
February 7, 2005... According to fixed interest analysts, these are halcyon days for bond funds. A low inflationary climate combined with slowly peaking interest rates mean the prospects are good even for bonds higher on the credit curve. John Hatherly, head...

Adding weight to the euro pot.
February 7, 2005... I am happy to say that my expectation four years ago that the euro would be successful has been realised. I remember how I failed in convincing many of my German friends and relatives about the viability of the euro and how it would easily...

A 'unique and hybrid' fund... and manager.
February 7, 2005... Even in the current favourable environment for high yielding bond funds, the manager of the AGBP262m Artemis High Income fund is driven to describe it as "unique and hybrid". But perhaps the description would better suit Adrian Frost...

Fund performance hits low point, says Forsyth.
February 7, 2005... Fund of funds manager Forsyth Partners' review of fund performance in 2004 revealed 62 per cent of offshore managers in the UK sector underperformed the FTSE All-Share benchmark, with only 38 per cent returning above benchmark. This is the...

Healthy return for sector.
February 7, 2005... By Tracey Cook In addition to managers' skill and knowledge, interest rate and inflation cycles are inextricably linked to the the fixed income sector's performance. Reflecting the favourable bond markets in recent years, the Fixed Income...

Manager Commment - Adrian Frost.
February 7, 2005... I have been managing the fund for the past two and a half years, and is run jointly by myself and Adrian Gosden. I am very much a bottom-up investor, not that I am scolding the macro side of things. Most bond fund managers have been trained...

Why making your own rules is the key to success.
February 7, 2005... The big secret of many successful investors is not playing by conventional rules. If they did, they would be condemned to mediocrity. Instead, they go back to first principles and work out their own rules. Three points are worth mentioning in...

Emerging market debt drives success.
February 7, 2005... The table below lists the Fixed Income GBP funds ranked according to their risk-adjusted performance over the past three and a half years. Risk ratings were only possible on 17 of the funds in the sector. All funds were classed as belonging to...

Euro property is looking strong.
February 7, 2005... When investors think of the property markets they commonly associate property funds with residential housing. And with the bottom of the housing market seemingly about to drop out they can remain wary of investing in the property markets....

Hedge fund tax issues stifle Key.
February 7, 2005... James Freeman, head of UK sales for Key, said: "We are frustrated at the moment because even though we have approved products waiting to be rolled out, we cannot do it because the Inland Revenue has not finalised its rules on the tax issue for...